[Diana's POV]
Everyone at school says I've finally returned to my usual self for the past few days.
One side of them is happy that I'm no longer bringing down the atmosphere everywhere I walk.
The other half are confused about why this change occurred only after that bastard returned to school.
I don't blame them for being confused. No sane person would be acting like nothing happened when the person who attacked them is in their proximity.
Only an insane person would.
Well — I like to believe that I'm sane.
If it makes them feel any better, the change they see, the positivity that has returned in my life, all of that is an act.
My head is filled with much darker thoughts, plagued with revenge, torture, and murder.
Since Bell made the promise not to get in my sight or speak to me, my days are as peaceful as can be despite his existence.
But that's the problem!
His entire existence, just the simple fact that he's on the same planet as me, brings these evil emotions out of me and if I close my eyes, I can see my hands wrapped tightly around his neck.
If I squeeze hard enough, the life in his eyes will slowly dissipate.
It was the first day of the weekend at the Rosemary household. We are but a humble family that lives in a single-floor house with a basement that was so crowded, you had to be careful where you walked or you risk knocking down a shelf or a lamp or a mirror, etc.
I spent the beginning of my day waking up my six younger siblings and helping the youngest two brush their teeth and shower.
Once I completed that task, I was left alone in the basement where I could sit there in the shower, letting cold water run over me.
I scrubbed and scrubbed until my skin turned red but I could never remove the germ that lingered.
As soon as I took a step up the stairs, my nose was greeted by the smell of fried pork.
I've been unable to eat anything powerful in flavor because my stomach would simply send it back out so that was for the others.
For me alone, Mother had prepared porridge as usual. I hugged her to show my appreciation before sitting down with the rest of the family who were waiting for Father to join us before digging into their food.
"Did you see the new episode of Paladin Justice?"
"I haven't yet. So don't spoil it."
"I have! It was freaking awesome when they—"
"I said don't spoil it!"
Meaningless but necessary conversations were being had.
Meaningless in that the topic had no impact on anyone's life.
Necessary in that it was the way for everyone to pretend as if everything was normal.
It wasn't only myself who was impacted. I don't think I'm narcissistic but I believe everyone in my family loves me a lot.
When my body was stained with a mark that I'll never be able to remove, my parents were willing to risk their life on the line to get revenge despite the target being the Agnus family.
It took my little brother, the second oldest below me, convincing them otherwise before they changed their mind.
My little brother tries to pretend to be an adult whose mature and strong but I understand he's still a child.
Hearing the story of what happened to his sister was something he wasn't meant to handle on his own. I wish I could've been there to reassure him but I could barely see anything outside of the darkness that had enveloped me.
And if you believe that everyone has moved on because months had passed since then, you're an idiot.
No one has moved on yet because what happened to me, to their family member, isn't something you simply move on from.
Especially when no punishment has been dealt to that monster yet.
All he received was a two-month suspension which was essentially a light slap on the wrist, while my family received a trauma that I'm not sure we'll ever be able to overcome.
My family is the only one able to see through the act that I've been putting on the past few days.
They can see past the positive change and peek into just how evil and dark my thoughts had become.
I was grateful that they didn't say anything because the last thing I need is an intervention or advice from anyone.
I would hate to feel any negative feelings toward the people whom I love dearly.
I know that is a terrible thought for me to have but I can't help it. It's earnestly how I feel.
"Diana," Mother called my name as she brought the final plate of food onto the table. She had a habit of making food people considered suited for lunch or dinner for breakfast.
Not that anyone in the family would complain because who'd prefer cereal and milk or eggs and bacon over a meal suited for a restaurant?
"Yes, Mom?"
"There's a package in the living room for you."
"A package. I don't remember buying anything."
Mother shrugged her shoulders and said, "It said fragile on the box so I didn't want to move it too much. While we wait for your dad to finish brushing his teeth, why don't you go see what's in the box?"
Nodding my head, I left the table and looked for the box which didn't take long; it was a small enough package that I could hold it with a single hand.
Not wanting to damage it, cautiously I formed a knife made of ice and used it to cut off the tapes.
Opening it, there was a bunch of protective foam.
After digging a little bit, I was able to see something black and shiny.
'Hmm? What's this?'
Reaching down towards the bottom of the box with both hands, I grabbed the bottom of the object and carefully pulled it out to reveal a black egg.
'...'
My mind went blank.
The air around me was sucked out into a vacuum.
The conversation between my siblings vanished.
It was like the time Bell was in front of me, this time it was between me and this black egg.
"Why?" was the first word I uttered.
There were no labels, no notes, no names but I knew where or rather who this egg came from.
It was common knowledge by now that Bell had won two black eggs as a prize during one of Vivian's exercises. He was allowed to keep one while the other one he was allowed to gift.
Nobody knew who the recipient of the other egg was, as he requested to keep it a secret between himself and the teacher.
But with this black egg in my hand, it wasn't hard to connect two and two together.
"Why?" I uttered again, even softer and more distorted.
'Why did he give me this egg?'
My first guess was that he was trying to torment me by reinserting his presence into my life without breaking the agreement the two of us made.
Then I quickly shook my head at that hypothesis. This egg was far too precious to serve as a mere cruel prank.
My next guess was that it was sent to me by whoever received it from him initially and it entered my possession without his knowledge. But I also shook his head at that prediction because we had no mutual friends.
I wondered if he still had friends left because most if not all of them distanced themself from him after the incident.
The last guess was most likely — but it was the one that left the bitterest taste in my mouth.
My probable guess was that his intention was to show the sincerity of his apology by gifting me an egg so priceless that you wouldn't be able to find them at auctions because those who own an egg of this caliber would rather keep the egg than sell it.
'...'
My mind went empty once again as I came to that conclusion that made my face curl, twist, and compress.
I don't know why but the longer I stared at the egg, the more I began to see Bell's face on the surface of the ovoid.
When his face became completely visible on the egg, I was tempted to stand up and throw the gift as hard as I could to kill whatever it was that was growing inside it.
Lifting one knee off the ground, I stopped myself after considering it.
'No. No,' I shook my head.
The egg did nothing wrong. The creature inside did nothing wrong. It wasn't their fault that the person who gifted them to me was a monster who deserved to die.
My body began to move on its own and hugged the egg.
How do you claim an egg as your own?
The answer is through bodily fluids.
Most people used their blood because saliva or sweat wasn't potent enough in traces of mana to make the connection with the egg.
I didn't use blood because I didn't have to.
Accidentally, as a single tear of confused frustration dripped down my face, it landed on the egg.
In a snap, I could feel this intimate connection created between myself and the creature that hadn't begun its growth period just yet.
The master is the one responsible for said growth. Without them, the egg remains an egg forever.
Keeping the egg at the proper temperature, which you'll know by feeling that connection with the creature, is the first step to growing the creature.
You must also continue to provide the egg with mana every while like a meal. Because every person's mana is unique like a fingerprint, no one else can do that task for you so neglecting the egg means death for the creature.
I hugged the egg even tighter, not enough to harm it but enough to feel as if it was going to merge into my body.
Turmoil. That's all I can say to describe my emotions and my thoughts.
Everything inside me was in turmoil.
"Diana?" Mother called me from the kitchen. "Diana?" she called me a second time.
Using my sleeve to wipe the traces of my tear, I responded, "Mom?"
"What was in the box?" she asked.
It wasn't just her who was curious. So were my siblings who tried to pretend they didn't care but I could see their ears expanding in anticipation.
"It's something very complicated," I answered with a bitter smile.
'I don't know how to feel about it.'
Walking over, I showed them the egg, and although my siblings didn't understand immediately, Mother who knew what was in my hand had eyes that looked like she was staring at a dragon's lair of gold as well as a bomb that could explode with a single mishap.
"Be extremely careful with that," she told me, dropping everything in her hands. "Do you need help finding a place to put it?"
"Yes, please," I answered. "I'd like that very much."